Sabathia received a stem cell treatment injection in his inflamed right knee from Dr. James Andrews late last week. Cashman said the Yankees were informed that if the process works, it would be a minimum of six weeks. Which means the Yankees would be without the lefty until July.

Again, none of this is entirely unexpected, but that's still bad news for a Yankee rotation that has Michael Pineda on the DL and not long ago lost Ivan Nova for the season.

This year, Sabathia, age 33, has a 5.28 ERA after eight starts, but his K/BB ratio of 4.80 suggests improved command relative to recent history. Sabathia was below his usual standards in 2013; however, in 2012 Sabathia posted an ERA+ of 125 in 200 innings of work. He has 208 career wins to his credit. He's under contract with the Yankees through at least 2016, and his deal includes a vesting option for 2017.